There are numerous types of play tents, toy castles, playhouses and other types of structures available for child activities. For example, foam structures comprising interlocking panels are available to be used as a children's playhouse. However, available foam structures do not provide a freestanding, cozy enclosure for children. If an enclosure is desired, children's play tents made of fabric and constructed using tent poles and the like are available.
For example, US patent application entitled “Multi-Purpose Furniture,” published as US 2012/0304389, by Ranck et al. discloses multi-purpose furniture that can be re-deployed as play-themed structures useable by children. The multi-purpose furniture, in one version, includes slab-like cushion elements. An ornamental graphic having the appearance of vertical wooden logs typical of a fort, large stones typical of a castle wall, or some other graphic is disposed directly on the surface of the foam (if foam is used), or a material encasing the foam (e.g., a woven or nonwoven fabric). These cushion elements may then be connected with one another to assume different configurations, e.g., a comfortable chair, or a structure having the appearance of a fort or other themed context.
In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,851,956, issued Oct. 7, 2014 and entitled “Playhouse,” to Niu, discloses a playhouse having a main frame, a canopy mounted on and above the main frame, and two roof supporting frames. When the roof supporting frames cross each other, the canopy is propped up and expanded to construct the playhouse into a three-dimensional space. When folding the playhouse, the roof supporting frames are inclined to overlap the main frame.
Many other types of indoor and outdoor play mat's, corrals, forts and the like are available. However, substantially all of the available structures either require separate supports like tent poles to hold up a roof or do not allow for a roof covering the structure.
Lacking in the art is a freestanding children's den which provides a substantially enclosed, soft, roofed structure that is a comfortable and safe place for children. Further, currently available products are not compressible for easy storage and most require assembly of a number of components prior to use.
In a striking improvement over conventionally available children's play structures, the present invention for the first time discloses a children's play den that provides a solution for all of the above issues. Presented here is a children's play den that is freestanding when used for play, and yet can be compressed into a small unit for easy storage using ordinary household devices. The improved unit decompresses into shape without the need for assembly of any structural components. An added benefit of such a den is that it provides a secure environment for children to play in or to sleep in.